by Avery Rae
"I can be good to you," he murmured, nuzzling his face against mine.
I grimaced and pulled away. "There's nothing good to be had in you. Nothing."
"I just wanted you to behave, Naomi. That was all."
He lifted his head but kept a hand on my chest, brushing over the top of my breasts. Back and forth, back and forth. I shivered in revulsion. It was amazing that someone so beautiful could be so utterly off-putting.
"But I understand now," he continued. "You're too strong to bend, and I can respect that."
"Respect? You?" I laughed, and his sweet expression flickered with anger There you are, Solys. He thought he was fooling me, but it was clear this was just another game for him. However, it was a game that could work in my favor for once. If it at least kept me out of the basement, I could play along.
"Come now, Naomi. I can give you so much more than some soldier." He brushed my hair over my shoulder, giving himself better access as he lowered his head again. "You don't have to pretend with him anymore. You can be my Marion. We'll all be one happy family."
I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Solys was jealous that someone had succeeded where he couldn't, and he wouldn't be able to rest until he had his way with me. The moment he got what he wanted though? This sickly sweet mask would get tossed aside. Honestly, I doubted he could even maintain it for long.
"You're forgetting the part where you already tried to make Marion your Marion." I bit down on my tongue, wishing I'd kept those words in. Forget Solys's mask failing, I didn't know if I could keep one up long enough to keep things pleasant.
"I've changed." He scraped his teeth against my shoulder. A warning. His way of telling me to play along. He lifted his head, looking at me through heavily lidded eyes. "Are you jealous, Naomi? Is that why you did what you did?"
You know it's not, psycho. Keeping my face neutral was taking so much strength, I started to shake. Before I did something stupid, I averted my eyes and bit down on my lower lip. "A little."
It was a lie of his own creation, yet when I looked back at him, I could've sworn he actually believed me. No, he did. He was actually buying it. He wanted to believe it that badly. Just when I thought I had him figured out, he had to go and flip the script.
"Prove it to me," I ventured unsteadily. "I'll give you whatever you want from me."
His eyes narrowed. "And how can I prove it to you?"
I wasn't sure what it was going to take to push him over the edge, so each thing I said from here on out would be a risk, but they were risks I had to take. Otherwise I'd ended up with Solys for absolutely no reason.
"Get them to let Kolyr off."
His expression flattened. "Out of the question. The man is a murderer."
"If you want me to be your Marion, then I can't have people knowing a Korysti is dead because of me."
Solys settled back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. "That would make a nightmare of public relations, wouldn't it?"
My eyes widened, and I quickly looked away. I couldn't believe he was actually considering it. Maybe he was jealous of Rylos and his newfound fame-slash-infamy? If that was the case, he probably figured I was the best human for the job, because I already knew how terrible he was. He didn't have to worry about springing that one on me.
He slid his eyes over to me. "However . . ."
My stomach sank.
"I'm going to need proof of my own."
"What do you mean?"
"How do I know that you're going to behave?"
Although everything inside me was rioting at the thought, I knew what I had to do. I shifted in my seat and Solys stiffened. I swung a leg over his thighs and slid onto his lap, my hands gripping his shoulders. He was already rock-hard, straining against the tight fabric of his pants.
Because it wasn't about him wanting me. It wasn't about sex. Not really, at least. He got off on the fact that I was doing what he wanted, and that was it. And if I wanted him to free Kolyr, I would have to pretend like I could be that woman for him.
I stared down at him, trying to admire his beauty. Anything to make this easier. He was genetic perfection like every other Korysti. He had the same pale purple skin that seemed to shimmer, and the same mesmerizing silver eyes. His was a cold beauty, though, forever marred by the defects in his character.
I thought back to those months in the basement, fighting to keep hold of my mind. All the times he put his hands on me. Pushed me. Threw things at me. The way he'd only let me shower if he got to watch. How he made me beg for food.
And then I forced myself to kiss him.
14
Tonight, I was going to let Solys defile me. All of his wishes would come true the moment he gave me proof that Kolyr was free. He'd left several hours ago to see what he could do. Judging by his confidence that he'd be taking me to his bed tonight, I had high hopes that Kolyr would be out of his cuffs by the end of the day. I would suffer the consequences.
For now, at least, Solys hadn't left me in the basement, keeping true to the new nice-guy facade of his. He didn't need to, though. Clearly Marion and I had pointed out just how lax his security was when we escaped, because he'd upgraded. A lot. Not only were there more men roaming his sprawling house and grounds, the doors and windows were so locked down it was almost comical.
Since he left, I'd been wandering around his mansion, eyeing all the tasteless, expensive decorations and getting endlessly questioned by roaming guards. I couldn't sit still knowing what I was going to have to do. All because I'd thought I could save the day. That was twice now I'd tried to help and completely blown it. Apparently when I woke up feeling like a superhero, I'd really convinced myself that could be who I was. But every single time, I screwed something up. Made things worse.
I was crossing through the main entrance when the guards at the door exchanged a look and opened the door. At first, I had this silly thought that they were opening it for me. To help me escape or something. Then I saw the long coat and the pants that were far too tight. The familiar cadre of guards. My stomach sank. Solys was back.
The smirk on Solys's lips told me he'd succeeded. A strange, caustic mixture of elation, fear, and acceptance roiled inside me.
"He's free?" I asked with a trembling lilt in my voice.
Solys held out a hand. A guard behind him set a tablet in his palm, then he held it out to me. On the screen was a loop of Kolyr being led out of an imposing circular building. No cuffs. I didn't know what it was, and I definitely couldn't read its signage, so I had to trust that Solys wasn't lying to me. Easier said than done, but it was all I could do. Maybe if I continued to play my cards right, I could talk with Marion at some point and get the truth.
Despite the multitude of people surrounding us, Solys jerked me to him and planted a hard kiss on my lips. I kept mine firmly shut, yet his smirk deepened when he pulled away. He was acting as if he'd just given me the kiss of a lifetime and I should be grateful.
"It's time for you to fulfill your end of the deal."
None of the guards were looking at us now, I noticed. They had all suddenly found interesting spots on the floor or ceiling to look at. I supposed it was easier than watching me debase myself. I wished I could just check out like that.
I gave Solys an indulgent smile. "My pleasure."
"Mine more so than yours, I assure you." His fingers dug into my lower back like a claw trying to rend my flesh. "Although, there's every chance you might end up enjoying yourself."
I won't. He didn't want me to anyway. He wanted me to squirm and hurt. I didn't know where his life had gone so wrong, what made him so different from his brother, but it must've been severe. Because the only good left inside him was all a farce. An act. And he was struggling to keep it up now that he thought he could truly break me.
Solys could barely contain his excitement as he brought me to his rooms. Yes, rooms. Having just one wouldn't be enough for someone of his high esteem, would it? There were three of them, interconnec
ted by doors that were always left open. Each was furnished to an obnoxious degree, including perfectly made beds.
He told me once that he'd dreamed of having a human in each of the rooms at some point, but we were just too disagreeable. He reminded me of this again as we walked to the middle room, and I simply smiled. It was an empty smile, put in place for the sole purpose of masking the dread I felt. That would only make him more excited, and I was hoping to get through this as quickly as possible. Boring him seemed like the best route.
Solys's main bedroom was the largest, of course, and had a bed big enough for five people to comfortably sprawl out in. He leaned up against the side of the bed, arms folded, his eyes roaming over me hungrily. Eat it up, asshole, you finally beat me.
"Undress," he ordered.
And so I did. There wasn't much to it. I just slipped the straps of my oversized dress down my shoulders and let the fabric pool at my feet. The air was cool against my skin, and I shivered. This excited Solys. He probably thought I was nervous, but I wasn't. I wanted to get this over with.
"Come to me."
I'm sorry, Kolyr. I wished I hadn't been so stubborn. That I'd agreed to stay with him and taken up whatever offer Rylos had for us. Maybe we'd be somewhere together right now, making love, laughing, eating, and just being our version of normal. I would never know for sure.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I grimaced and forced them back. I needed to stop thinking about Kolyr. It would only make this harder. I had yet to cry in front of a Korysti, and I wasn't about to start now. I had to hold on to whatever I could if I wanted to stay sane.
Solys's smirk was still lingering on his smug face. I had a strong feeling I'd be seeing that for the rest of the night. When I stood in front of him, he didn't touch me. He only looked. It was important to him that he draw this out.
"Now, undress me, Naomi."
I fought to keep the scowl off my face. I didn't want him using my name, especially now. I focused instead on undoing the buttons and hooks of his ridiculous outfit.
One of his hands flew up, engulfing both of mine and giving them a rough squeeze. "Slower."
I bit down hard on my tongue. Everything in me was screaming to attack him. Who cares about the consequences? A part of me did. Even if I managed to injure him so badly he couldn't come after me or call for help, his home was too well protected these days. I'd never make it out. If I were carted off for attacking him, or worse, then I would never see Kolyr again.
Knowing he was out there somewhere was the only thing that kept my fingers moving. I turned that thought over in my mind as I slid Solys's jacket from his shoulders. When I made this deal with Solys, I hadn't really, truly considered who he was and what he was capable of. I realized the gravity of my mistake far too late.
Solys took me by the chin and yanked my head up, fingers digging into my jaw with such force my teeth ached. "What's so much more interesting than me?"
I grabbed his arm with both hands and jerked it back before taking several steps away from him. "I want to see Kolyr."
His expression darkened. "You already did."
"In that video you showed me, your guards were escorting him." My heart was thundering wildly in my chest. "What did you do, Solys?"
"Are you really so paranoid?" Solys asked with a low chuckle.
"What did you do?" I repeated, louder this time.
His laughter was abruptly cut short. Despite all my experiences with him, his sudden shifts in mood were still terrifying. The way he could go from smiling and laughing to the cold indifference of a predator in a flash.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked in a flat voice. "Do you think I don't know what you're doing? You were hoping you could hold out with me just long enough so that Kolyr could come rescue you."
My pulse slammed into overdrive. I didn't think I'd been fooling him. He was wrong on that account, but I had been hoping Kolyr would come get me once he was free. Foolishly, of course. I knew he stood little to no chance of getting to me, but it was something to get me through. And I'd been hoping Solys would be so satisfied with having gotten his way that he wouldn't give it much more thought. Just in case. But now I was realizing that Solys had taken it all much further than I'd anticipated, because I'd made a deal with the devil.
"I want to see him, Solys."
"I do love it when you say my name."
Solys flashed me a brief, chilly smile as he approached me in a wide circle, moving alongside me like a predator cornering his prey. Then he struck. He yanked my nude body against his clothed one, and the feeling of the silky fabric wriggling against my skin made my stomach turn. He knotted a hand in my hair and pulled my head down toward my shoulder, before leaning down to run his tongue along my cheek, only stopping when he reached my ear.
"You can trust me on this, Naomi," he whispered icily, "you don't want to see him. Not now."
"What did you do?" I repeated yet again, my voice breaking. I just wanted him to tell me.
"I didn't do anything. However, my guards were eager to avenge their slain brother."
I lost it. I screamed, I clawed at his skin, I kicked and punched and spat venomous words. Even as he hauled me to his bed, I grabbed fistfuls of his hair and yanked, tearing out the dark purple strands. Despite his fury, there was delight in his eyes. He was loving every second of it. If I ever had any doubts about which he preferred, the compliance or the fighting, I knew for certain now.
He let go of me to remove his clothes and I scrambled off the bed, falling to the floor and landing with a sickening crack. I tried to get up and fell again, my left leg giving out under me. Something wasn't right, but I couldn't tell what it was. I didn't feel any pain, but I knew I'd broken something.
Solys slid off the bed, his nude, pale purple body shimmering in the room's faint light. Revulsion made my stomach churn when I saw his excitement. I started to crawl, anything to put space between us. He walked over at a leisurely pace and crouched down, grabbing at my injured leg.
That was when I felt the pain. He pulled me toward him, and there was nothing I could do but scream.
He flipped me over and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Look at what you've done to yourself, Naomi."
I said nothing. I couldn't. I opened my mouth and nothing but wordless, pained gasps came out. I couldn't bring myself to look at my leg, but I knew it was bad, and Solys was only making it worse. When he finally moved his hand away from the source of my injury, I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then his fingers found their way to the scar on my thigh. His mark. The Sonethel crest.
"Did you try to hide this when you let him defile you?"
I curled my upper lip back. "No, I told him what a shitbag you were."
"It hurts my feelings when you use words I can't understand." Solys frowned. It was almost convincing. "I know it means you're insulting me."
"You can assume that about anything I say to you."
The ice-cold indifference was back in an instant. He tilted his head to the side like I was a puzzle he couldn't figure out. "Why would you make this worse for yourself?"
"Because I'd rather die than have to live with you touching me."
"Oh, you silly girl, I'm never going to let you die." He slowly crawled over me, not even flinching as I kicked and pushed. "You tried so hard last time. Not eating your food. All I had to do was slip the right things into your water to keep you alive. Miserable, I'm sure, but alive. And I'll keep on doing that. Forever."
Even as I clawed at his face and back, he dipped his head down to my neck and sank his teeth into my flesh. I let out an ear-shattering scream, and it was followed by a crash that rumbled through the floor. Only it didn't come from me or Solys.
He lifted his head with a snarl and whipped his furious gaze to the door. "Don't ever interrupt—"
A blur shot over me, taking Solys with it. Adrenaline kicking in, I dragged myself a short distance away, staring with wide eyes at the flurry of movement in front of me.
>
"Rylos?!" I croaked.
But he wasn't even looking in my direction. He was on top of Solys, screaming incoherently. There were wide-eyed peacekeepers at the doorway, staring at the scene before them in disbelief. Well, what was left of the doorway. The metal had been crushed and bent to allow them entry. All for me? How did they even know?
When they came to their senses, the peacekeepers rushed inside and pulled Rylos off his brother. His teeth were bared and his hair askew as he continued to shout. "You're no longer a Sonethel, Solys. I'm having you removed from our registry. Your position is forfeit. You'll be nothing and no one, rotting in a cell for the rest of your miserable existence."
Solys jerked against the peacekeepers as they fumbled to get him cuffed. I had to wonder how often they experienced this sort of thing, because they didn't seem to have a clue how to handle themselves. Or maybe it was because he was a governor. I didn't know or even care. I was just happy to see Solys finally getting what he deserved.
I sucked in a breath as I became aware of the tingling numbness at my ankle. I dared to look down and my stomach turned. My ankle didn't look right. Not only because it was swollen, but because the angle wasn't right at all. I couldn't describe how or why, but I knew it was broken.
Rylos seemed to finally take notice of me then. He clenched his eyes shut and looked away before walking toward me, slipping off his coat as he did. When he reached me, he draped his coat over my nude form and crouched down beside me.
"Naomi, there aren't any words that could possibly carry the weight of how sorry I am." He pressed his lips into a thin line and swallowed deeply. "He'll go away forever. I promise you he won't escape this."
"H-how did I make this happen?"
"I'm not certain if he took the time to gloat or not, but he managed to get Kolyr's charges dropped and . . ." Rylos looked away with a heavy sigh.
My eyes grew hot. "He told me."
"You already know?"
I tried to tell him that I did, but I choked on the words. I didn't want them to be true. If I were to say it out loud—say that Kolyr was dead—it would destroy me. I couldn't even be glad that Solys was going away anymore. Not if it meant that Kolyr's life was forfeit.
